<ul><li><keyword id="15681942" type="General" weightage="40" keywordseo="chatgpt" source="Orion">ChatGPT</keyword> backed superbots are not the holy grail that can solve all problems of consumer companies. It took <keyword id="8939913" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="jio-haptik" source="Orion">Jio Haptik</keyword> six months to learn that these bots need to be schooled before they can be unleashed in the real world.</li><li>LLM backed bots are good for simple queries but are no good when they are expected to multitask.</li><li>For enterprises that want to improve customer satisfaction using bots, Haptik’s <keyword id="19728845" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="contakt" source="Orion">Contakt</keyword> has solved many of the challenges around data privacy and hallucination.</li></ul> When <keyword id="3169059" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="openai" source="Orion">OpenAI</keyword> launched ChatGPT a year ago, it was seen as a superbot that could slay any problem in a jiffy. Companies across the world went into a huddle to figure how they could unleash the superbot to address concerns of their respective customers. While companies were looking at ChatGPT’s use cases, many were quick to pronounce the death of CRM companies. Jio Haptik – a leader in conversational AI – also went into a huddle to figure out its own future after the launch of OpenAi’s ChatGPT. "Surprisingly, Haptik’s team realised that GPT is not a one-size-fits-all solution for all problems." Explains Swapan Rajdev, Haptik’s CTO and co-founder, “When GPT launched, it was perceived as this holy grail that could solve everything. As we started digging deeper, we realised it struggles with multitasking. If you give it a small task and give clear instructions, it will work very well. As more things get added it will get confused." Haptik decided to figure out a way for enterprises to ensure good customer experience using this new disruptive technology. Actual production grade scalable <keyword id="6373684" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="chatbots" source="Orion">chatbots</keyword> are not simple. GPT has ensured that bots can be conversational, but a lot more needs to be done to train them to solve problems in real time. Training a bot that can represent an enterprise means the bot has to undertake several tasks at the same time. One prompt, therefore, cannot answer different queries. Haptik has created an architecture using LLM to address customer engagements not just through the bot but also for contact centre agents who often struggle to understand a customer’s history and context in real time. What consumer companies don’t realise is that hallucination is a bigger problem than many envision. An LLM powered bot can hallucinate when it is asked a question it has not been trained to answer. Haptik decided to work on solving many such problems that would spring up while dealing with consumers. Privacy is one thing that rarely comes up when companies are looking to roll out LLM powered bots on their websites. If it is not trained properly, a superbot can possibly share existing data of customers too. Jio Haptik has spent the last six months finding ways to train this superbot so that guardrails are built around such LLM powered superbots. It has come up with a product (Contakt) that can help companies engage smartly with their consumers, but without the pain points. Artificial intelligence has been around for a while now and has been used by companies to address consumer queries. But in the past, CRM companies had to envisage and feed in potential questions and answers into the system. But it is hard to imagine every question that can be asked by individuals. Haptik’s Contakt can allow a sweep of the knowledge management system of companies to come up with a bot that is well trained to represent the company. Jio Haptik’s CEO &amp; co-founder, Aakrit Vaish, says: “AI has been key to customer experience but limitations of traditional, rule-based chatbots have often left customers frustrated. The launch of ChatGPT was truly a pivotal moment in our history as an industry, and now the technology finally exists to make world class CX a possibility. With Contakt, every brand can now have their own custom LLM assistant that delivers end-to-end customer experiences, starting at the pre-sales stage, driving transactions, and finally in post-sales engagement to unlock customer loyalty.” Powered by LLMs at every touchpoint, Contakt is designed to enhance the user experience throughout the customer lifecycle, enabling every brand to have a ChatGPT-like solution of their own. Contakt is more than a standalone solution that aims to streamline customer experience. It empowers customers with self-serve options and automation of routine tasks, and improves agent productivity with co-pilot offerings. Further, the suite’s analytics engine helps track bot and agent performance, and optimize for better customer outcomes with AI-powered recommendations. Contakt is well suited for pre-sales conversational buying guidance and for customer self-service. Its other interesting feature includes Agent Co-pilot for superior agent productivity, and Intelligent analytics to track and optimize metrics that truly matter. The platform’s self-serve support resolves a vast range of customer queries on its own and actively learns from customer conversations to provide natural and adaptive responses each time, enhancing the overall customer experience.Agent Co-pilot equips agents for better productivity and conversational assistance. It helps reduce query resolution time, query handling time, first-response time among other metrics for improved customer satisfaction.The analytics feature on Contakt allows businesses to create custom reports and dashboards, and get a comprehensive view of customer outcomes, including customer satisfaction score, query completion rate, and others. Commenting on the integrating GPT like capabilities into its sales function, Anand Thakur, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Reliance Retail, says: “The integration of ChatGPT-like capabilities into our web sales assistant will not only streamline the buying process but also elevate overall customer experience - turning window shoppers into buyers! We believe that this will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of retail tech, providing a unique and tailored experience for every Tira Beauty customer." The company is all set to launch its Generative AI Beauty Advisor chatbot on the Tira Beauty website with Jio Haptik. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/openai-exec-says-this-is-the-most-overhyped-and-underhyped-thing-about-ai-right-now/articleshow/105736434.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">OpenAI exec says this is the most overhyped — and underhyped — thing about AI right now</a>

Chatbots hallucinate and get confused, says Jio Haptik which is ‘training’ them

<ul><li>The company’s CRM solution called Interakt is targeting small businesses on WhatsApp Business at ₹1000 a month.</li><li>From day one, businesses using Interakt can start sending alerts and reminders to customers and even track payments and queries simultaneously. </li><li>The company hopes to get listed over the longer term but aims to turn profitable before that.</li></ul>Imagine if you could order an Alexa-like voice assistant to attend to your customer queries, while you take a break from work. Now you can do this for as less as ₹1000 a month. If you are a small business or a solopreneur, you can now chat with your customers and answer queries easily through a virtual assistant. Providing this solution is <keyword id="8939913" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="jio-haptik" source="Orion">Jio Haptik</keyword>, a company that develops conversational platforms and virtual assistants and is owned by Reliance Jio, the country’s largest telecom service provider. Over the last 15 months, the company has worked on a solution called Interakt, which helps small businesses automate their support and sales channel using WhatsApp. The company already has 5000 paying users on its platform using Interakt. So far, Jio <keyword id="4380499" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="haptik" source="Orion">Haptik</keyword> has been focused on providing AI powered conversational platforms like bots to large enterprises, but with Interakt it hopes to address business needs of small and micro businesses with annual revenues between ₹50 lakh and ₹5 crore. Explains Aakrit Vaish, CEO of Jio Haptik, “Interakt Business is a product that we launched 18 months back. We saw a great deal of demand from small businesses who wanted to use WhatsApp Business to chat with consumers. We realized that the BOT approach would not work so we spun out a separate team in the company and said that they had to solve the SMB problem.” The company now has crossed 5000 paying merchants for this product and this base is roughly doubling quarter on quarter. Jio Haptik believes that they would have 10,000 paying customers by March 2023. Reliance Jio had acquired a majority stake in Haptik back in 2019 for $100 mn. The telecom behemoth currently holds 87% in the company while the founding team holds the remaining stake. For scores of small businesses, WhatsApp Business is the only platform they have to engage with their consumers. For them this comes as a blessing as the platform can help them automate communications and answer questions in real time without any lag. Small online sellers using Shopify can do the same without any worry. Thanks to the boom in social commerce, Vaish is of the view that small businesses now no longer need their own websites. He says: “Our belief is that SMBs may not even need a website and only when they scale they may need a website. They create an Instagram page and get business on WhatsApp. We are organizing WA for them.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="So what does Jio Haptik offer small businesses?" comment="subhead" text="So what does Jio Haptik offer small businesses?">So what does Jio Haptik offer small businesses?</cmsannotation> The company helps small and medium businesses manage chats and analytics. The users also have a dashboard where they can track their business metrics. The same capabilities are also available to merchants selling on Instagram and Google Messages as well. Interakt offers end-to-end customer management solutions on WhatsApp. Instead of using a personal number, Haptik will offer a customer full suite of services with a new connection. From day one, businesses can start sending alerts and reminders to customers. It also enables businesses to track purchases, payments and queries simultaneously. As businesses scale, Interakt can enable multi-agent chats for the same business account. For entities selling on their websites using Shopify, Interakt has solutions that are integrated with it such that all website orders will come on Interakt. The entrepreneur can use Google analytics to track metrics. A business that earns ₹1 crore or more in revenues, Jio Haptik offers automated workflows along with basic automation. In less than 15 months, Interakt accounts for 20% of Jio Haptik’s revenues and by the end of FY24, Vaish expects it to be a third of the revenues. But the ambition is to take it to 50% and a merchant base of 50,000 by FY26. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Jio Haptik’s ambitions are not just restricted to revenue growth" comment="subhead" text="Jio Haptik’s ambitions are not just restricted to revenue growth">Jio Haptik’s ambitions are not just restricted to revenue growth</cmsannotation> Jio Haptik’s ambitions are not just limited to revenue growth, which is growing at a clip of 300% year-on-year. The company does not need capital infusion at this point, but its ambition is to get listed over the longer term and Vaish is working towards that goal too. Over the medium term, the company is looking at becoming profitable. Explains Vaish, “The ambition for any good business should be to become a publicly listed entity. That is a gold standard for every company. Our long-term ambition is that, but again I don’t want to get too ahead of myself.” Jio Haptik’s near-term plan is 2-3x growth in aggregate revenues and to get Interakt to a point it contributes to a third of our business. Vaish also wants to bring the enterprise business to a point where global clients contribute a larger chunk of enterprise revenues. He says: “We don’t need additional capital in the short-term. In the medium term we may be profitable and not need capital or we are growing exceedingly fast and do need more capital and we look at ways to finance it. Our long-term goal is to be a profitable listed company.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Business concentration risk as 50% of business comes from WhatsApp and Instagram users" comment="subhead" text="Business concentration risk as 50% of business comes from WhatsApp and Instagram users">Business concentration risk as 50% of business comes from WhatsApp and Instagram users</cmsannotation> Given that the retail business is almost entirely focused on catering to small businesses on the WhatsApp Business platform and Instagram, there is an element of concentration of risk and dependence on one platform. For now, Jio Haptik says that it is only making features and products that its customers want. Most businesses today prefer to function on WhatsApp. For large businesses, Jio Haptik offers a diversified set of solutions across channels. The belief is that over a longer period of time, new channels like Google Business Messages will become popular as will some others like Google Messages. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/article/its-not-just-mercedes-even-bank-deposits-are-competing-with-equities/articleshow/95879457.cms">It’s not just Mercedes, even bank deposits are competing with equities</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/india-on-course-to-become-worlds-second-largest-economy-by-2050-says-gautam-adani/articleshow/95622223.cms">India on course to become world’s second largest economy by 2050, says Gautam Adani</a>

With an eye on listing in the future, Jio Haptik trains guns on growth & profitability

<ul><li><keyword id="8939913" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="jio-haptik" source="Orion">Jio Haptik</keyword> and <keyword id="3498585" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="cashe" source="Orion">CASHe</keyword> partner to enable automated instant credit lines on <keyword id="790242" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="whatsapp" source="Orion">WhatsApp</keyword>. </li><li>This will aid business owners and solopreneurs to access instant credit via WhatsApp. </li><li>Jio <keyword id="4380499" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="haptik" source="Orion">Haptik</keyword> and CASHe claim to provide revolving loans on WhatsApp within a minute.</li></ul>Jio Haptik partnered with financial wellness platform CASHe on Tuesday to enable instant credit line disbursals on Whatsapp. Jio Haptik is a WhatsApp chatbot solution provider, which was acquired by <keyword id="6355199" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="reliance-industries" source="Orion">Reliance Industries</keyword> in 2019. The overriding technology powering this solution is Haptik’s advanced conversational commerce capabilities and CASHe’s AI-powered bot. The Whatsapp chatbot matches the user’s inputs and automatically facilitates a formal application, along with a Know-Your-Customer (KYC) check. Once verified, it sets up a credit line in a few clicks through a guided conversational flow. The user’s details are generated and displayed based on the name entered – the only key input that the borrower needs to enter is at the start of the conversation. “Haptik is pleased to be partnering with CASHe, India’s leading financial wellness platform, with the aim of helping borrowers get access to loans and credit seamlessly and in under a minute. Since going live with our WhatsApp bot, CASHe has witnessed over 50,000 credit line issuances, more than ₹25 crore in loan disbursals, and more,” said Swapan Rajdev, co-founder and CTO, Haptik. However, this is not the first time that an Indian company is offering loans via Whatsapp. <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/how-to/need-a-loan-just-say-hi-on-whatsapp-and-get-rs-10-lakh-instantly-heres-how-to-apply/articleshow/86961211.cms?from=mdr">Last year</a> IIFL Finance, a non-banking financial company, offered an instant loan disbursement of ₹10 lakh on WhatsApp, where users could access it by typing ‘Hi’ in a chat box, in five minutes. Jio Haptik and CASHe, however, claim to provide revolving loans on WhatsApp within a minute. Revolving loans provide more flexibility with drawdowns and repayments as opposed to traditional loans. “With this solution on offer, we have successfully pivoted our credit model to adapt to the shifts in the lending space by offering instant sachet loans to existing and prospective borrowers through an engaging and conversational flow. The digital assistant on WhatsApp helps us to reach out to new customers and support the existing ones,” said <keyword id="12757264" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="yashoraj-tyagi" source="Orion">Yashoraj Tyagi</keyword>, CTO of CASHe. <keyword id="15651702" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="jio-on-whatsapp" source="Orion">Jio on Whatsapp</keyword> This August, <keyword id="58448" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="reliance-retail" source="Orion">Reliance Retail</keyword> launched a grocery delivery service called Jio on Whatsapp. In the September ending quarter, Reliance Retail said that <keyword id="8506093" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="jiomart" source="Orion">JioMart</keyword> on WhatsApp brought in 37% orders from ‘new’ customers on JioMart. “The business launched JioMart on WhatsApp native app during the quarter, a novel and disruptive initiative that brings the simplicity of instant chat service to the online shopping experience to millions of consumers. An impressive 37% of orders received from this platform are from new customers who had not shopped on JioMart before,” Reliance said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/government-listed-private-companies-capex-to-touch-21-lakh-crore-in-fy23-icici-securities/articleshow/95858117.cms">Government, listed private companies’ capex to touch ₹21 lakh crore in FY23: ICICI Securities</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/recent-ipo-successes-could-lead-to-recovery-in-the-primary-market-ey/articleshow/95858664.cms">Recent IPO successes could lead to recovery in the primary market: E&amp;Y</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sustainability/news/mumbai-delhi-ranked-lowest-among-6o-global-cities-for-public-transit-systems/articleshow/95857282.cms">Mumbai, Delhi ranked lowest among 6o global cities for public transit systems</a>

Jio Haptik and CASHe partner to deliver instant credit lines on Whatsapp

<ul><li>Reliance Industries-backed <keyword id="4380499" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Haptik">Haptik</keyword> has acquired Buzzo.ai. </li><li>Buzzo.ai’s functionality works on similar lines as that of Amazon’s <keyword id="196611" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Alexa">Alexa</keyword>. </li><li>The idea is to simulate a real-life sales associate for commerce.</li></ul>Reliance Industries-backed Haptik has acquired Buzzo.ai, a voice conversational commerce platform for an undisclosed amount. This is expected to power <keyword id="6354504" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-jio">Reliance Jio</keyword>, the telecom venture owned by Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, and, possibly, his upcoming e-commerce venture. Buzzo.ai works on similar lines of Alexa, where through an Artificial Intelligence assistant it can understand a customer's needs through conversation. It then comes up with the most relevant recommendations that match the specific inputs and explains why that may be the best choice. The acquisition of Buzzo.ai by Haptik is expected to complement Reliance Jio’s $100 million bet, for an 87% stake, on Haptik made in April this year. “Essentially as a company the way we are set up is that we have our business which involves delivering customer experience and AI solutions for all our clients. And Reliance Jio is the biggest client. That’s how buzzo will be extended, the solutions will be given to all our clients including Jio, through which we hope to generate a ton of business,” Aakrit Vaish, co-founder and CEO, Haptik told Business Insider. Vaish admits that Buzzo.ai’s functionality is like an Alexa. However, how it will be taken to market might be different, according to him. “It will be driven into the B2B market to our clients, who will further implement it for their customers,” he said. Haptik currently has over 50 clients across the US and India. Vaish hopes to double their business in the next year thanks to backing by Reliance and subsequent acquisitions.

Reliance Jio just added an Alexa-like product to its cart via Haptik

<ul><li><keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>, the 9th richest man in the world, and the mastermind behind Jio has big plans and there’s no stopping him.</li><li>Jio’s growth ambitions are being compared to Chinese giants <keyword id="212412" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tencent">Tencent</keyword> and <keyword id="302749" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Alibaba">Alibaba</keyword>.</li><li>Jio has raised over $20.3 billion in investments including the likes of Google and Facebook and they are sold on the promise of the next big tech company. </li><li>Jio, which was launched in 2016, in less than four years went on to become the largest telecom provider in India.</li></ul>Tencent and Alibaba are currently racing to be <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/24/tencent-and-alibaba-in-a-battle-for-title-of-asias-biggest-company.html">Asia’s biggest company</a> - the market capitalisation of both companies is over $600 billion each. Jio’s parent Reliance Industries (RIL)⁠, a conglomerate with businesses ranging from oil and petrochemicals to technology, retail and telecom⁠, is less than a fourth in size but the sheer expanse, and ambition, that Mukesh Ambani has displayed in recent months is causing people to compare. Now, some see Jio as the next Alibaba, and some see it as India’s Tencent. Or is it both rolled into one? “Similar to Alibaba or Tencent which created tech-based ecosystems in China, we find RIL best positioned to create a similar ecosystem in India. In the next two-three years, we expect RIL to have a captive mobile base of over 500 million users,” said a Bank of America report dated July 16. <div type="image" title="Alibaba-and-Jio" msid="77065214" hostid="261"></div> “Their idea is to get into a household and see that every activity is done through a Jio service. They are a tech company now and that is very clear,” Satish Meena, Senior Forecast Analyst at Forrester, told Business Insider, adding that Jio is clearly becoming “retail heavy” like Alibaba, one of the world’s largest e-commerce players. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="68422829" title="15 deals have given Mukesh Ambani’s ₹8.5 trillion Reliance Industries a distinct makeover" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Others see it differently. “They want to be the next Google or Tencent of India," said Wylie Fernyhough, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/20/tech/reliance-jio-ambani-intl-hnk/index.html">an analyst with PitchBook, told CNN.</a> Tencent is a Chinese multinational conglomerate with businesses across internet products, entertainment, fintech and many more. <div type="image" title="Jio Tencent" msid="77059749" hostid="261"></div> During the Reliance Annual General Meeting held on July 15, Ambani stressed on the importance of startups in Reliance’s ‘golden decade’ of growth. That’s also what Tencent did in China. “RIL announced potential integration with Indian startups, including helping them with distribution/marketing and access to capital. This could potentially be a step towards acquiring stakes in Indian startups and using WhatsApp traffic to monetize these through a commission model. We note that Tencent has taken a similar approach in China for WeChat, with stakes in platforms such as Meituan, JD, PDD, etc. We see such a move by RIL to be positive for the Indian internet ecosystem,” said a Goldman Sachs report dated July 16. Jio has already invested in over 20 startups since June 2017 and, as Ambani hinted at the shareholders’ meeting, there may be more in the coming weeks and months. “I believe that there is no better partner for Indian start-ups than JIO. We are well positioned to help Indian start-ups in a number of ways. Whether it be in technology development, product development, distribution, market access, or even scale-up capital,” he said on July 15. Some of Reliance’s big investments in startups <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Startup </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sector </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Jio Saavn </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Music </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Embibe </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Edtech </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Haptik </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">AI </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Fynd </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ecommerce </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Nowfloats </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SaaS </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Radisys </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Open architecture business models </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Reverie </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Cloud based language as a service platform </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SankhyaSutra Labs </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Software simulation services </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Netradyne </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Automotive AI </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Asteria Aerospace </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Robotics </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FunToot </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Edtech </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">EasyGov </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SaaS platform </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Kare Expert </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Healthtech </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tesseract </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">AR/VR </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">NewJ </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Media </td></tr></tbody></table> With Facebook and Google on board with their big cheques, Jio has the push to go ahead with its super app ambitions. “Not many telecoms in the world have this kind of ecosystem control — right from content to music to movies as well as having all the different apps within that ecosystem. What was missing was the commerce piece of it,” Tarun Pathak, an associate director at research analytics firm Counterpoint, had told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/mukesh-ambani-wants-to-be-alibaba-with-reliance-jio-super-app-and-investment-from-facebook/articleshow/75343540.cms">Business Insider earlier.</a> <div type="image" title="Super app" msid="77059796" hostid="261"></div> A giant in its own right There are those who think that comparing Jio with Tencent is an exaggeration. Meanwhile, Arvind Singhal, managing director of Technopak, thinks it's foolish to compare Ambani’s plans to those of Tencent or Alibaba. “Many many years ago, people used to say Reliance will be the Walmart of India or the Amazon of India… no Reliance is Reliance, it deserves that credit. Their thinking is very far ahead in all sectors. In this case, Jio along with Retail is one complex piece of a puzzle,” he said. Tencent is a big player in gaming but Jio is still planning to get started with Akash Ambani’s announcement of Jio Console in the 2019 AGM of the company. While making big investments in technology, Ambani is also going big on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-next-goal-seems-to-be-the-retail-king-of-india/articleshow/76953716.cms">physical retail</a>, where Tencent is not a player, though Alibaba is. Refining and petrochemicals continues to contribute over 60% to the consolidated revenue of RIL⁠. Yet, Ambani has already disclosed his plan to spin out Jio and list it as a separate company. And when that happens, the sheer expanse of the company’s interest areas and their individual potential may be benchmarked to the value of similar businesses under the Alibaba and Tencent banners. India may be a smaller market compared to China, where Alibaba and Tencent are major players, but that also leaves a huge growth potential on the table for Jio. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-next-goal-seems-to-be-the-retail-king-of-india/articleshow/76953716.cms">Mukesh Ambani’s next goal seems to be the ‘retail king of India’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-gave-google-and-facebook-a-discount-on-reliance-jio-stake-heres-why/articleshow/77032126.cms">Mukesh Ambani gave Google and Facebook a discount on Reliance Jio stake ⁠— here’s why</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/google-latest-offering-shoploop-is-similar-to-what-walmart-owned-flipkart-launched-a-week-ago/articleshow/77013646.cms">Google's latest offering Shoploop is similar to what Walmart-owned Flipkart launched a week ago</a>

If Alibaba and Tencent are rolled into one, it may look a lot like Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio ⁠— only much smaller for now

<ul><li>Chairman <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>, with a net worth of $72.4 billion, is leaving no stone unturned ⁠— whether it is in adding physical stores or technological might for <keyword id="8506093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jiomart">JioMart</keyword>.</li><li>The RIL stock has gained 25.8% this year so far , analysts expect a lot more from RIL in the next few months.</li><li>While the big-ticket fundraising by Reliance <keyword id="2003276" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword> has caught the market’s fancy, the next round of unlocking potential value is likely to come from the retail vertical set for an IPO.</li><li>While a deal to buy out Kishore Biyani’s Future Retail is being worked out, here’s a look at the size and scope of Ambani’s existing retail unit, which is a giant in its own right. </li><li>Check out the latest news and updates on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Business Insider.</a></li></ul>According to Reliance Industries’ annual report, the retail vertical sold 20 million electronic units, 160 million garments, 2.6 billion units of grocery among other things last financial year. Reliance is already the country’s largest retail chain but Chairman Mukesh Ambani ⁠— with a net worth of $72.4 billion ⁠— wants more and he is leaving no stone unturned, whether it is in adding physical stores or technological might (including the reach and scale of WhatsApp) for its e-commerce platform JioMart. While the big-ticket fundraising by Reliance Jio has caught the market’s fancy, the next round of unlocking potential value is likely to come from the retail vertical, which is also headed for an initial public offering (IPO) soon. While a deal to buy out Kishore Biyani’s struggling Future Retail is being worked out, here’s a look at the size and scope of Ambani’s existing retail unit, which is a giant in its own right. To start with <keyword id="58448" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Retail">Reliance Retail</keyword> employs nearly 1.4 lakh people, and has almost 11,800 stores all across India selling everything from food and grocery, consumer electronics, to fashion and lifestyle. Adding Future Retail’s stores would straight away add 1,500 outlets to its network. Profit is a habit for Ambani Reliance Retail revenue and profit is twice as much as it was three years ago. In the last quarter, even with March being a tepid month, Reliance Retail posted an operating profit of ₹2,062 crore, up by 19.8% from the same quarter the previous year. <div type="image" title="retail charts." msid="76954033" hostid="261"></div> In the full year ending March 2020, it has added 1,500 stores and 30% to its total retail space. Reliance Retail saw 640 million footfalls during the year, and has a 125 million registered customer base, up 40% year-on-year. According to the report, the retail venture on an average adds three stores per day. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Segment </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Brands </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Margin (Source: BOB Capital Markets) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Food and Grocery </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Reliance Fresh, Reliance Smart and Reliance Market </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6.5% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Consumer electronics </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Reliance Digital Jio stores </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6.2% 2.2% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Fashion and lifestyle </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Reliance Trends, Project Eve, Reliance Footwear, Reliance Jewels and AJIO.com. </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">24% </td></tr></tbody></table> Consumer electronics has been the big win for retail so far <div type="image" title="reliance revenue chart." msid="76954052" hostid="261"></div> 61% of the retail revenue comes from consumer electronics. “Reliance Retail, being the master distributor for Jio’s telecom services, is a strategically important entity. With 8,100+ Jio stores, the retail business is cleverly capitalising on Jio’s technology platform and moving between brick-and-mortar stores and the e-commerce business,” said a Bank of Baroda Capital Markets report. Essentially, Reliance Retail is not just selling technology, it is also using tech to boost its business Reliance is betting on e-commerce with its much talked about venture JioMart, which currently works on the offline-to-online model with kirana stores and is present across 200 cities. “The roadmap to this journey requires Reliance Retail to establish a complex yet robust physical and digital pan-India infrastructure and neatly weave this network to a smooth, sound and responsive operating system, which will enable Reliance Retail to serve consumers in partnership with traditional retailers,” Reliance’s annual report said. Facebook’s $5.7 billion investment in the company has meant that Reliance Retail and WhatsApp are now in a commercial partnership to accelerate JioMart’s growth. Reliance's various startup investments have been boosting its technological prowess like Haptik in the conversational AI (Artificial Intelligence) space, Fynd in the e-commerce sector, among various other bets in education, cloud, robotics, SaaS (Sofware as a service) and more. All this will take Reliance deep inside India’s heartland Reliance Retail already has extended beyond the big cities of India. “Under the Trends umbrella, retail operates Trends Small Town (a concept addressed to tier-3 and 4 towns). The concept has been well received by customers and has scaled up to 240 stores across 200+ towns in a short time,” said the report. And the tech investments may help it go far deeper and grow much larger. “We expect revenues to surge to ₹3.4 trillion by FY23 (33% of which will come from connectivity),” said the Bank of Baroda Capital Markets report from July. Post-covid retail All eyes will be on retail on the April-June 2020 earnings, as the coronavirus lockdown would have impacted the sales. But Reliance Retail with Mukesh Ambani’s deep pockets is likely to fare better than peers. “Business is re-imagining the store in a post COVID-19 world and reworking its interactions with customers when they come back, how they come back, their shopping journey, checkout and so on. Taking a 360 degree view of the customers, business is strengthening digital commerce and omni-channel capabilities, bolstering its supply chain / fulfillment capacity to handle 10x home delivery,” said Reliance in its annual report. The investments into the company and the planning for a future with new rules of the game have helped the stock <div type="image" title="RIL share (1)." msid="76954116" hostid="261"></div> While the stock has gained 25.8% this year so far ⁠— at a time when the Sensex has fallen 12.5% ⁠— analysts expect a lot more from RIL in the next few months <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Broking firm </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Target price </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Morgan Stanley </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1801 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Angel Broking </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1937 </td></tr></tbody></table> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-jio-fiber-and-reliance-invit-set-to-raise-over-1-billion-from-abu-dhabi-and-saudi-sovereign-funds-for/articleshow/76888352.cms">Mukesh Ambani is not done – Jio Fiber to get over $1 billion as Abu Dhabi and Saudi sovereign funds are set to invest in Reliance InvIT</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-ceo-sundar-pichai-announces-10-billion-investment-in-india/articleshow/76937372.cms">Google will invest $10 billion in India, as CEO Sundar Pichai says India will lead the next wave of innovation</a>

Mukesh Ambani’s next goal seems to be the ‘retail king of India’

<ul><li>On Wednesday morning, Facebook picked up 9.99% stake in <keyword id="6354504" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> for $5.7 billion.</li><li>The deal is Facebook’s third direct investment in India. And interestingly, its startup investments in India from before are aligned with Reliance’s startup deals and its growth. </li><li>Reliance Chairman <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> said that this deal will help both the companies build a digital forward India in a post-Corona world. And their individual investments in India too seem to be aligned for the same goal.</li></ul>India woke up to its biggest tech deal on Wednesday (April 22) morning as Facebook picked up a 9.99% stake in Reliance Jio for $5.7 billion. This investment puts Jio in the top 5 most valued listed companies at a valuation of $66 billion. Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani called Facebook as its “long-term partner in continuing to grow and transform the digital ecosystem of India for the benefit of all Indians”. The deal is Facebook’s third direct investment in India. Interestingly, its former startup investments in India are aligned with Reliance’s startup deals and its growth. Ambani said that this deal will help both the companies build a digital-forward India in the post Corona world. Their individual investments in India too seem to be aligned for the same goal. E-commerce One of the significant factors of the deal is that Reliance Retail and WhatsApp are now in a commercial partnership to accelerate the Indian giant’s e-commerce venture – JioMart. Through JioMart and WhatsApp, the entities will now help support consumer businesses. “The companies will work closely to ensure that consumers are able to access the nearest kiranas who can provide products and services to their homes by transacting seamlessly with JioMart using WhatsApp,” Reliance said in a statement. But interestingly, Facebook’s first direct investment in India – Meesho, is a social commerce platform which works as a marketplace for resellers, and connects them with customers via social media channels like WhatsApp and Facebook. Reliance also placed its bets on two startups that would enable businesses and e-commerce. In December 2019, RIL invested $20 million for a majority stake in Nowfloats – a startup that helps businesses and individuals, who don’t have any web developing skills, build an online presence. In August 2019, Reliance picked up a 87.6% stake in Fynd, an e-commerce platform. Fynd was also backed by Google. It will also be interesting to see how another of Reliance’s acquisition – the AI chatbot startup Haptik, will be involved in the e-commerce growth of the companies in India. Education Reliance and Facebook both have shown an interest in India’s booming online education industry. Facebook invested in Indian education startup Unacademy in February 2020. “With this investment in Unacademy, we are reinforcing our commitment to the Indian startup ecosystem as well as investing in a company that is transforming learning in India,” Ajit Mohan, VP and MD of Facebook India had then said. Reliance on the other hand, has been doubling its bets on edtech. In April 2020, Reliance Industries invested an additional ₹500 crore in its education startup Embibe, according to reports. This comes right after a ₹90 crore investment in the startup Ambani made in February. Embibe is an Artificial Intelligence powered learning platform founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Aditi Awasthi and Reliance acquired 73% stake in the startup in April 2018. Experts too are betting on the deal. “This deal will empower digital transformation of millions which shall boost not only the digital ecosystem but also the nation. The next 100 million internet users will be easier to get on board thanks to this deal,” said Shrenik Gandhi, CEO and co-founder of digital marketing company White Rivers Media.

The Indian startups backed by Reliance Industries and Facebook have a lot in common

<ul><li><keyword id="10926" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance">Reliance</keyword> Industries is looking to buy a majority stake in the online pharmacy company <keyword id="2875740" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Netmeds">Netmeds</keyword>.</li><li>The talks of stake purchase in Netmeds come at a time when Mukesh Ambani is doubling down on its e-commerce venture <keyword id="8506093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jiomart">JioMart</keyword>. </li><li> In 2019, Reliance had acquired 82% stake in C-Square solutions, a Bengaluru-based startup which provides software solutions to pharma companies. </li></ul>Mukesh Ambani is strengthening his e-commerce segment and is now reportedly looking to include e-pharmacy in his list of acquisitions. According to a <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/reliance-plans-to-buy-e-pharmacy-netmeds/articleshow/75564362.cms">TOI report,</a> Reliance is looking to buy a majority stake in the online pharmacy company Netmeds. Netmeds, which was facing challenges in delivery during lockdown, had already partnered with <keyword id="58448" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Retail">Reliance Retail</keyword> to deliver medicines in April 2020. The deal talks with Netmeds has come at a time when Reliance is doubling down on its e-commerce venture JioMart. While limited to grocery so far, JioMart had begun operations in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan. With the Facebook investment, Reliance Retail and WhatsApp are now in a commercial partnership to accelerate JioMart’s growth. Through <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/whatsapp-has-reportedly-listed-giving-loans-as-a-main-objective/articleshow/75445825.cms">JioMart and WhatsApp,</a> the entities will now help support consumer businesses. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75548041" title="Both Silver Lake and Mukesh Ambani hope that Reliance Jio will replicate Alibaba's magic⁠ — and this time Zuckerberg will get a chunk" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> The ten-year old Netmeds Founded in 2010 by Pradeep Dadha, the startup has so far raised about $100 million from investors like Sistema Asia Fund, Cambodian investment company Tanncam, private equity firm OrbiMed and others. The company claims to deliver products to over 19,000 pin codes across the country and has a 4 million user base. But this isn’t the first pharma related acquisition by Reliance. In 2019, Reliance had acquired 82% stake in C-Square solutions, a Bengaluru-based startup which provides software solutions to pharma companies. Reliance has also been strengthening its position in e-commerce by acquiring companies like e-commerce platform Fynd, digital solutions startup NowFloats, grocery delivery startup Grab, and AI-based chat solutions company Haptik. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/facebook-google-apple-and-microsoft-paid-h1-b-workers-below-market-wages-says-a-new-report/articleshow/75567713.cms">Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft paid H1-B workers below market wages, says a new report</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/both-silver-lake-and-mukesh-ambani-hope-that-reliance-jio-will-replicate-alibabas-magic-and-this-time-zuckerberg-will-get-a-chunk/articleshow/75548041.cms">Both Silver Lake and Mukesh Ambani hope that Reliance Jio will replicate Alibaba's magic⁠ — and this time Zuckerberg will get a chunk</a>

Netmeds partnered with Reliance Retail in April⁠— now Mukesh Ambani reportedly wants a stake

<keyword id="2990732" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="microsoft-translator" source="Orion">Microsoft Translator</keyword> now supports -- Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Bodo, Dogri, and Kashmiri. This brings <keyword id="10387" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="microsoft" source="Orion">Microsoft</keyword> <keyword id="169238" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="translator" source="Orion">Translator</keyword> a step closer to its goal of supporting all 22 official Indian languages and now covers the languages spoken by almost 95 per cent of the country's population, the company said. "We stay committed to supporting India's diverse languages and culture by leveraging the most advanced AI technology to drive the country's growth and make access to technology more inclusive," <keyword id="125928" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rajiv-kumar" source="Orion">Rajiv Kumar</keyword>, Managing Director, India Development Center, Microsoft India, said in a statement. The translation feature can be accessed through the Microsoft Translator app, Edge browser, Office 365, Bing Translator, and the Azure AI Translator API for businesses and developers, which is being used by companies such as Jio Haptik and <keyword id="3518161" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="koo" source="Orion">Koo</keyword>. Microsoft's collaboration with Jio Haptik and the integration with Translator play a pivotal role in bridging linguistic divides and empowering India's diverse communities through technology access for all major Indian languages. "This development is quite exciting for Haptik because it offers our customers the opportunity to be more inclusive and reach a wider audience. They can now provide support in languages like Bhojpuri, Bodo, Kashmiri, Dogri -- which is phenomenal," said <keyword id="2302528" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="swapan-rajdev" source="Orion">Swapan Rajdev</keyword>, Co-founder &amp; CTO, Jio Haptik. This new update will impact close to 61 million people and will open new economic opportunities for local artisans and businesses, allowing them to connect with a broader audience, the company stated. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/google-pixel-8-pro-vs-samsung-galaxy-s23-ultra-smartphone-comparison-of-price-and-features/slidelist/104177836.cms">The Android top end battle: Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/google-launches-pixel-8-pixel-8-pro-and-pixel-watch-2-check-out-price-and-specs/articleshow/104165778.cms">Google Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel Watch 2 launched with improved AI features</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/samsung-galaxy-s23-fe-with-exynos-2200-launched-in-india/articleshow/104155907.cms">Samsung launches S23 Fan Edition with Exynos 2200 in India</a>

Microsoft Translator now supports 20 Indian languages

<ul><li><keyword id="6484187" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ril">RIL</keyword> has just acquired a controlling stake of 85% in the Hyderabad-based startup <keyword id="1845256" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="NowFloats">Nowfloats</keyword> for ₹141.63 crores. </li><li>Earlier in the year, the company acquired online fashion e-commerce platform Fynd and conversational AI startup Haptik.</li><li>These investments are in line with the much awaited <keyword id="10926" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance">Reliance</keyword> e-commerce debut.</li></ul><keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> led <keyword id="6355199" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-industries">Reliance Industries</keyword> is gearing up for its e-commerce launch and looking at its latest startup acquisitions, they all seem to be a strategic investment to enable the company’s marketplace model. RIL has just acquired a controlling stake of 85% in the Hyderabad-based startup Nowfloats for ₹141.63 crores. Nowfloats offers SaaS based solutions to SMEs, enabling their digital presence. This comes in line with Reliance’s e-commerce venture, where it is reportedly working with kirana stores and small businesses in the country, to bring them online. “The aforesaid investment will further enable the group’s digital and new commerce initiatives,” said the official statement from Reliance. It has been clear for a few quarters now that the next leg of growth for Reliance will come from its consumer business and e-commerce will be an important pillar in that aside from the telecom venture Reliance Jio.“RIL is most attractively priced large cap growth stock in India. EBITDA from consumer biz will drive further re-rating” global broking firm CLSA said in its latest report. 
 
 
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 Reliance’s startup acquisitions are driving its e-commerce dream Reliance has also mentioned that it would invest another ₹75 crore in Nowfloats if they achieve their agreed milestones. However, Nowfloats isn’t the only big startup acquisition Reliance has made this year that brings it closer to its e-commerce vertical. Earlier in August 2019, Reliance acquired a majority stake in the Google-backed startup Fynd. Working in the online fashion e-commerce space, Fynd is the middleman for physical retail outlets and e-stores. Reliance pumped in ₹295.25 crore in the startup, during which Google exited Fynd. Back then too, Reliance had said that this investment would help its commerce initiative. Prior to that, Reliance acquired the Artificial Intelligence firm Haptik for a whopping ₹700 crore. Haptik is a conversational AI platform which enables customer engagement through support, concierge services, lead generation and more. Even after rumours of a Diwali launch, Reliance’s e-commerce venture is still awaited by all. <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/reliance-retail-pilots-ecommerce/">Reports</a> say that pilot for the e-commerce vertical has already begun across India. However, with these acquisitions Reliance is putting together a strong tech vertical with already established businesses and consumers. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/ali-express-club-factory-and-shein-wont-be-able-to-import-gifts-to-indians-anymore/articleshow/72502873.cms">If you ordered a ‘gift’ from Club Factory, Shein or Ali Express — it might not make it through customs in India</a>

Reliance Industries' latest acquisition takes Mukesh Ambani closer to e-commerce launch

Mukesh Ambani is looking to expand his <keyword id="1519722" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="retail-footprint">retail footprint</keyword> by acquiring several ecommerce players. This is being seen as a precursor to the ongoing battle with Amazon for India's hot ecommerce retail market. Mukesh Ambani's <keyword id="105301" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Industries-Ltd-">Reliance Industries Ltd.</keyword> (RIL) is in discussions to acquire or buy stakes in furniture outlet, Urban Ladder, lingerie brand, Zivame, and online pharma store, Netmeds. As per reports, Reliance could pay as much as $160 million for Zivame while the Urban Ladder deal could be pegged at about $30 million and Netmeds at $120 million. Milkbasket, a milk company, is also said to be one of the targets. Ambani has raised more than $20 billion by selling equity stake in Jio Platforms. RIL is also said to be in talks to acquire full or parts of <keyword id="44950" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kishore-Biyani">Kishore Biyani</keyword>'s <keyword id="44949" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Future-group">Future Group</keyword>'s retail assets. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) had earlier clarified that it is unable to comment on speculation and rumours on a deal to acquire the retail businesses of Future Group. RIL was replying in a clarification to stock exchanges on a possible deal with Future Group. "..And would like to clarify that we are unable to comment on media speculation and rumours and it would be inappropriate on our part to do so," RIL said. "The Company evaluates various opportunities on an ongoing basis. Further, there is no information which has not been announced to the stock exchanges and which should have been announced by the Company in terms of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015," Reliance had said. Ambani is on a buying spree and the latest round could be similar to the buys since 2017. Since then, Reliance has purchased toy store-chain Hamleys, music streaming app called Saavn, Grab a Grub Services and the Haptik <keyword id="107950" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence</keyword> chatbot. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/how-much-deloitte-kpmg-ey-and-pwc-accountants-and-consultants-make-from-entry-level-to-executive-roles/articleshow/77533447.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">How much Deloitte, KPMG, EY, and PwC accountants and consultants make, from entry level to executive roles</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/dream11-wins-ipl-2020-sponsorship-indias-first-gaming-unicorn-bags-the-rights-for-250-crore/articleshow/77609909.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Dream11 wins IPL 2020 sponsorship – India’s first gaming unicorn bags the rights for ₹222 crore</a>

Mukesh Ambani eyes stake in furniture outlet Urban Ladder, lingerie brand Zivame, and online pharma store Netmeds

New Delhi, Jul 13 () Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company, will hold its first online AGM on Wednesday and it promises to be a much bigger affair with a brand-new virtual platform that can log more than 1 lakh shareholders from 500 locations simultaneously. Reliance had so far held all in its annual general meeting (AGM) physically with shareholders outside Mumbai could never attend the annual event. They can now simply log into the event live, can listen to the plans and initiatives and comment and participate too, company sources said. For easy onboarding of its shareholders, RIL has launched an educative Chatbot via Whatsapp number +91-79771-11111 to nuance processing of logging in, asking questions and voting on the resolution. The Chatbot is equipped to answer queries and guide shareholders, prospective investors, media, and general public with accurate and immediate information on the AGM. A Chatbot works as 24x7 helpdesk, but this one can handle 50,000 querists simultaneously via conversational text and video, they said. The AGM on July 15 will showcase multiple first on a real-time basis - including a two-way live streaming and a brand-new virtual platform that enables more than 1 lakh shareholders from 500 locations, in India and overseas, to log in simultaneously, they added. The Chatbot, which debuted during Reliance's mega Rs 53,124 crore rights issue, is powered by Jio Haptik. So far, all the post-IPO AGMs of Reliance have been physical meetings that have often been equated with big fat Indian weddings. The company that is widely credited with having launched the equity culture in India, held AGMs in stadiums during times of its founder Dhirubhai Ambani. In 1985, 12,000 of them attended the Reliance AGM at the Cooperage Football Ground in Mumbai's Colaba. The next year, around 35,000 attended it at the city's Cross Maidan. Over the years, the AGMs got shifted to auditoriums even as its shareholder base swelled to over 26 lakh. And now the upcoming AGM will be virtual, where shareholders will be able to watch the AGM, ask questions to the chairman and vote - all aided by technology, in line with RIL's current focus, the sources said. By going online, RIL is bringing together its highly widespread shareholding of 26 lakh. In addition to shareholders in India, those in other countries like the US, UK, Canada UAE, Japan, HongKong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia will log in, they said. Platforms and capabilities to stitch the mega-AGM include video conferencing, the Jio Meet platform, Cisco Webex, and commercial webcast. All directors, key officials, and shareholder speakers will be visible and audible and thousands of shareholders will be able to post their questions and eVote on resolutions. At the last AGM on August 12, 2019, the firm's billionaire chairman Mukesh Ambani announced a roadmap for Reliance to become a net-debt free company before March 31, 2021. But the oil-to-telecom conglomerate achieved net-debt free status last month itself on the back of a record fundraising from stake sales and rights issue. Reliance secured over Rs 1.18 lakh crore from global tech investors, including Facebook, by selling 25.24 per cent of its digital business and raised Rs 53,124 crore by selling shares to existing investors. Taken together with last year's sale of 49 per cent stake in fuel retailing venture to BP Plc of UK for Rs 7,000 crore, the total fund raised is in excess of Rs 1.75 lakh crore, the company had said last month. Reliance had a net debt of Rs 1,61,035 crore as on March 31, 2020. "With these investments, RIL has become net-debt free," it had said. At the last AGM, Ambani had also announced plans to sell a USD 15 billion stake in his group's oil-to-chemical business to Saudi Arabian Oil Co but the deal has got slightly delayed. ANZ BAL

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